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Japan needs solution to save bluefin tuna: Monaco envoy to confab+

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DOHA, March 15 (AP) – (Kyodo)—The Monaco representative at the international conference to conserve endangered wildlife in Doha, Qatar, says Japan lacks specific measures to conserve bluefin tuna and should come up with steps that would satisfy signatory states.Patrick Van Klaveren said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that if Japan, a dominant consumer, suggests a reduction in international trade or cutting quotas by 50 percent, such a proposal could be debated at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora through March 25.

Monaco has proposed banning all cross-border trade in bluefin tuna caught in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, a measure whose adoption Japan seeks to prevent at the conference of the so-called Washington Convention. Even if a ban is adopted, Japan intends not to follow it.

Klaveren criticized Japan’s position, saying the country consumes 80 percent of the tuna catch in the region and that there is scientific evidence that show tuna catches are declining. Monaco believes a ban is the best option, he said.

The proposal on bluefin tuna will likely be put to a vote in the final days of the meeting.